Rising anti-Christian violence in Karnataka

by Nirmala Carvalho

Over the past three months, Hindu extremist groups have carried out at least 15 attacks against the state's Protestant communities. According to Christian leader Sajan George, this is part of an "ominous plan by ultra-nationalist forces to discredit the Congress-led Karnataka administration" and win back power.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Security has become an issue in
Karnataka. In the past three months, ultra-nationalist Hindu groups have carried
at least 15 attacks against Christian communities. This comes on top of threats,
insults and those incidents that have gone unreported to the authorities.

The latest incident occurred on Sunday, marking a "worrisome"
upward trend, said Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian
Christians (GCIC). Speaking to AsiaNews,
he said, "These militants seem to flout the rights enshrined in the Indian
Constitution."

On Sunday, 25 Hindu militants from the Rashtriya Savayamsevak Sangh (RSS )
and the Bajrang Dal disrupted a prayer service at the Living Hope Church, an independent
Pentecostal community in Yelahanka New Town (north of Bangalore). After they
stormed the venue shouting "no prayer and no church", they prevented Church
members from continuing their meeting.

Rev William John went to the local police station and filed a complaint
against the attackers. Police inspector Ashok Kumar, who took the pastor's
statement, promised to provide the Christian leader and his community with the
necessary protection.

However, a week earlier, the same Pentecostal Church suffered a similar
attack. On 1 September, the same militants interrupted another prayer meeting. They
accused the clergyman and the members present of carrying out forced
conversions from Hinduism to Christianity and then beat them.

"These attacks," Sajan George noted, "seem to be part of ominous plan by
Hindu ultra-nationalist forces to discredit the Congress-led Karnataka administration
ahead of parliamentary elections in 2014."

After nine years in power, the Hindu ultra-nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) year lost in the state
electionsin May to the secularist Congress, the largest party in the
country.

Since its defeat, the BJP has continued to fuel tensions and support attacks
against minorities in the state.